Preparation method of a hyaluronic acid derivative capable of modifying the surface of cells and also having biocompatibility, biodegradability, and liver-targeting deliver property, and use of the hyaluronic acid derivative prepared thereby as a liver-targeting cell delivery system.

Images: Expression and localization of cathepsin B in thyroid glands from TH transporter-deficient mice. Cathepsin B (white, red) was mainly localised in vesicles of thyrocytes of WT (A) and Mct10- (B) Mct8- (C), and Mct8/Mct10-deficient (D) animals but also associated with the apical plasma membrane domain and within the lumen of thyroid follicles (E to H, asterisks). Thyroid tissue taken from cathepsin B-deficient animals served as controls for antibody specificity, which was confirmed by lack of primary antibody reactivity (I). Vesicular staining (arrows) of cathepsin B is more pronounced and signal intensities (J) are slightly increased in both, Mct8- (G) or Mct8/Mct10-deficient (H) mouse thyroids when compared to WT (E). Representative images of 3 animals (5–8 months old) per genotype are displayed.

Monday, March 13, 2017

HRMECs were initiated by elutriation from dissociated normal human retinal tissue. Passage 3 cells are ship in proliferating culture with a confluency of greater than 90 %. ENDO-Growth medium containing 5% serum and growth supplements are recommended for culture. Cells have an average additional population doubling levels >16 when cultured.

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Our Synaptic Marker is Used to Compare Earth vs Space Samples
Exposure to the microgravity conditions of spaceflight alleviates the load normally imposed by the Earth’s gravitational field upon the inner ear utricular epithelia. Previous ultrastructural investigations showed that spaceflight induced an increase in synapse density within hair cells of the rat utricle. However, the utricle exhibits broad physiologic heterogeneity across different epithelial regions, and it is unknown whether capabilities for synaptic plasticity generalize to hair cells across its topography. To achieve systematic and broader sampling of the epithelium than previously conducted we used immunohistochemistry and volumetric image analyses to quantify synapse distributions across representative utricular regions in specimens from mice exposed to spaceflight (a 15-day mission of the space shuttle Discovery). These measures were compared to similarly-sampled Earth-bound controls. Following paraformaldehyde fixation and microdissection, immunohistochemistry was performed on intact specimens to label presynaptic ribbons (anti-CtBP2) and postsynaptic receptor complexes (anti-Shank1A) DOI: 10.1152/jn.00240.2016.

Mature vestibular hair cells retain capabilities for structural plasticity manifested through modulation of synapse density. Investigations are ongoing that are testing the hypothesis that synapse density increases may result from exposure to centrifugation-induced hypergravity, which would provide the foundation for future research into the molecular mechanisms through which these modifications are induced. This research will provide insight and strategies for inner ear rehabilitation through the induction of synapse density increases in conditions of vestibular paresis.